Why Angels Never Sleep
by Anrel
Summary: Gaara moves from the place he had called home for 14 years, not that it felt much like a home in the first place. Now, in new surroundings, Gaara has a chance to meet new friends and new people and have a new life. But will he take this opportunity? AU
1. CH1: New place

**A/N: Hello people. Just to show you that I am not a completely FF geek I have written a Naruto fic n.n**

**Yes it is an AU and I hope it turns out to be a good one. I have never done an AU so I am trying my best on it. In my oppinion, since I am such a pesomistic person, is it sucks. But it's not up for me to descide. It's up to you. n.n Have fun with it.**

**BTW. The poem there was written by me. So... NO STEALING/**

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Ever wonder Why angels never sleep?  
Why the earth lets go, and the oceans weep?

Ever wonder Why the pale boy sits apart?  
With cold blue eyes, and a glass made heart?

Ever wonder Why the wind taunts the sand?  
Why it feels electric when I hold your hand?

Ever wonder If it's love?

Ever wonder... ever wonder...

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Looking out through the glass as the trees and houses passed by in a blur of motion. The car hummed lightly as it passed over the newly paved road. the sun was bright over head and shined through the leaves, casting uneven shades of warmth. The music was off as everyone in the car was silent.

Gaara's gaze turned from the road to those in the car with him. He sat alone in the back while his siblings had chosen to ride up front. Kankuro slept peacefully in the seat in front of him. Temari drove. Gaara turned again to look out the window.

The trees and houses gave way to reveal a park full of activity. The left side had swings, slides, and jungle gyms for the little kids. The right side contained a basketball court, volleyball court, and a few tennis courts along with a baseball field, and a track encircled it.

Across the street was a gas station and an ice cream shop. Behind the ice cream shop, Gaara could see signs of a public pool being built. The car went past the park sign and so he turn around to read.

He was able to read, 'Hidden Leaves Public Activities Center', before the car was too far to see the writing. The sign, as well as the park and pavement, looked new and probably was.

Kankuro said something that pulled Gaara's attention away from the park. Apparently he had awakened.

"Hey, Gaara. Did you hear me?" the young man looked through the rear view mirror at the redhead, taking his eyes from the road slightly.

Gaara blinked and looked at his brother. He sighed and spoke softly, "Hear what?"

"I said do you think we should get a pool in the back yard when we get home?"

"We don't need one, Kankuro. Keep your eyes on the road."

The young man sighed and looked back to the road. "Right."

The car was silent again.

The redhead turned once more to look back to the park before it was hidden once again by trees and houses. This place didn't feel like home.

He hated it.


	2. CH2: Not a Home

Someone tapped Gaara's shoulder, waking him from his light and rare slumber. Opening his eyes, Gaara peered at his sister who had a soft smile on her face. She spoke in a soft, motherly voice.

"Come on, Gaara. Time to get up. We need to unpack and your gonna help." she giggled lightly and then backed away from the car. Gaara followed suit.

Stepping out of the car, Gaara set his eyes on their new place. It wasn't that stunning, being an apartment building. Not that their car was very impressive either. It had rust spots here and there but it ran good. Kankuro loves the car, no matter how old it looks.

Temari spoke again, "Kankuro and I already moved some furniture up there while you were napping. You haven't been sleeping well lately so we decided it would be best to let you rest." She grabbed some boxes from the moving van they had rented and headed towards the building, continuing the conversation. Gaara grabbed what boxes were his and followed.

"Kankuro went to the store to get some food. The fridge is small so we're going to be mainly eating canned or dry foods. It's better than nothing, so we'll deal with it. After Kankuro gets back and we get done unpacking, him and I will be looking for work. We'll have to get you signed up for school soon. I think registration is in two weeks."

Stopping the one-way conversation momentarily to open the door to the apartment, Temari lightly kicked the door open and headed for a room. Gaara stepped in and was disappointed on site. Not cause it was old and and needing a slight clean up, but because it was small. Just by setting foot in this place made you immediately think, This is way too small for three people. And that's what he thought. Nevertheless he stepped in.

To his left was the sink and kitchen. To the right, the bathroom and coat rack. In front of him was their smallest table. He sighed and had hoped they would have taken the nice one that they had back at their old house. Most of the things that they had in that house were now sold. The money was used to pay for this dump, the new engine on the car to get them their, and the moving van.

Gaara knew that staying back at the family house wasn't a good idea, but he wished that they did. It was a lot better than this place.

Inside the bathroom Gaara could see a shower, sink, and toilet. The towel cabinet went right beside the medicine cabinet. The shower, sink, and toilet looked like they needed a real good cleaning. Real good cleaning. He dreaded the moment to come when Temari would have the three of them clean that bathroom. It would come, he knew, just not when.

The room right next to the bathroom had Temari's large fan in it. Given to her by their mother, Temari wouldn't ever think of selling it. Nor would Kankuro give up his large ventriloquist dummy. Neither of the siblings understood their older siblings interest in it but they never bothered to ask.

Kankuro's room was right next to Temari's. His doll sat up against the wall near the door, wrapped. Gaara always thought that the doll was for some sort of voodoo that his older brother would do on those who made fun of his make-up and hat.

Gaara looked at the last door, his room. He sighed heavily and opened the door. It was an ok size. But then again, at the moment it was empty. He set his boxes in one corner and turned around to see a moving man bring his dresser into the apartment. He looked at Gaara and seemed to ask where to put it. Gaara stepped aside and pointed into his room. The man put his dresser in there and left. He came back with Gaara's bed and set it in the room.

While Gaara was lazily moving his room around to find the way he wanted it Temari came back and started to talk to him again.

"So do you like it here so far?" she said.

Gaara looked over at her for a moment with a look that said, Do I look like it, which she shook her head at.

"Chin up. At least you have four weeks before school starts," she teased.

He gave her an annoyed look before she went on her marry way to fix up her own room.

An hour passed and Gaara finally was satisfied with the room. He was surprised that the dresser, bed, and him could fit in the room at the same time. He opened the closet and dresser drawers to fill them, which took about another 10 minutes. Kankuro had gotten back and had ramen boiling on the stove. Temari was setting the table as Kankuro fixed his own room.

The apartment was boiling by the heat from outside and from the stove. Gaara looked around a moment and then got some clothes to take a shower. He stood in the shower with his eyes closed and allowed himself to go into a trance. It wasn't sleep, but it always seemed to give him the energy he needed. Before he knew it there was a knock on the door.

"Gaara. Your ramen is getting cold. You done yet?" Kankuro's voice was heard over the sounds of the running water.

Gaara glanced over to the door a moment before turning the shower off. He opened the shower door and grabbed his towel. Wrapping it around him, he wiped down the mirror to look into it.

With his eye make-up off he looked really worn out and his eyes looked sunken in with a purple coloring. He almost looked dead.

He sighed and opened the medicine cabinet. The cabinet had four rows; one was for medication, one for Temari, one for Kankuro, and the last was Gaara's. He grabbed his eye make up and closed the cabinet to use the mirror. He opened it carefully and placed two fingers into the black make-up, then smeared it across one closed eye. He did so to the other one before closing it and placing it back on his shelf.

After dressing, Gaara stepped out of the bathroom and sat down at the table. Dinner was very quiet until Temari started to nag Kankuro about not wearing his make-up when the two went job searching. That conversation led to arguing and then yelling by which this point Gaara left to his room and closed the door to drown out their argument.

He walked over to the window and looked out it, hoping to drown the yelling even more. Glancing to his right he could see a metal peg sticking about seven inches out of the wall and the fire escape around the corner. He thought on how he could get to the fire escape by using the peg to stand on. The roof would be much more peacefull right now. Deciding against that for now he looked out in front of him.

He could see the park from his window. As the sun set the people at the park left. The apartment had become quiet again. The door opened and Temari entered.

"Kankuro and I are gonna look around before it gets to dark. Want to join us?"

He shook his head and heard his sister leave the room, closing the door on the way out. He waited there after hearing the sound of them leaving the apartment. The sun was no longer visible and the sky was turning slowly from a golden purple to a midnight blue.

Gaara leaned back, and let himself fall onto his bed, causing it to bounce slightly. He then proceeded to stare at the ceiling. He wasn't tired enough to sleep.

He raised his hand and grasped at the ceiling.

"This is not a home." He muttered to himself before letting his hand drop.


	3. CH3: The Young and the Hopeless

**_A/N: hey what's up? Naruto not mine. blah blah. So I had more but I forgot to save. THE CHAPTER WAS ALMOST FINISHED AND I FORGOT TO SAVE!!! _**

**_I know that there is alot of'one lining' in this chapter but I don't know how else to portray an arguement._**

**_Oh well._**

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Three days had passed since Gaara had moved from his home to the grungy apartment. Now being completely unpacked gave him time to explore the town. But he hadn't yet and didn't really plan on going anywhere anytime soon. Kankuro had managed to eat almost all of the ramen they had for that week which was OK because Temari had gotten a job at the grocer down on the corner.

Temari and Kankuro sat at the kitchen table, Gaara lay in his room. He had created a game that involved hitting a sand bag off the ceiling and then catching it and repeat. Kankuro was slurping his ramen loudly. Temari was calculating how much money they had saved up verses how much Kankuro would eat by the end of the week.

Kankuro's slurping and Gaara's sandbag off the ceiling created a constant racket that created tension in the room, though the two hadn't registered it in their minds till Temari stood and slammed her hands on the table. Gaara caught the bag and sat up, seeing Temari glaring at Kankuro and pointing towards the door.

"Kankuro, I'm serious about what I said."

"Hm?" he quirked an eye at her, not knowing what she was talking about.

She became more annoyed than she already seemed. "I said that you should go out and get a job! Haven't you even tried yet?!"

Gaara sighed as he sensed an argument coming.

The older sibling became defensive. "I have been trying! No one is hiring around here!"

"If no one was hiring, Kankuro, then how did I get a job so fast? Maybe you should take that make-up off before you go and apply!"

"Why should I?!!"

"Cause most people don't like the look you do Kankuro!"

Kankuro stood and slammed his hands on the table. "Well that's their problem!"

Temari raised her fist. "No Kankuro! It's ours! If you can't get a job, we can't pay for the things we need!"

"We've got money left!"

"How long do you think that's gonna last?!!"

Gaara turned away, not wanting to hear this repetitive argument. He leaned against the window sill and stared outside.

"Just take the make-up off when you go to apply and when you go to work! You can wear it any other time!"

"It shouldn't matter what I look like!"

"Well it does!!"

Kankuro turned and stalked out the door, not letting the argument go any further. Gaara stood after a minute of silence and walked into the kitchen. Temari was sitting down again and she had her face in her hands.

Lifting her head, she looked at him apologetically. "Sorry, Gaara."

He shrugged. "Whatever."

And it was silent again. A few moments went by before either of them spoke.

"Would you?"

"Go get some more ramen?"

"Yes."

He sighed. "Alright."

She stood and opened a very small drawer where their savings were held for the time being. She gave him just enough to get what he needed.

"Thanks."

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Stepping out from the well air conditioned building after being cooped up for three days sent chills down Gaara's spine. The heat from the outside air filled his nostrils as a slight breeze swept through his hair. His chilled skin adjusted but not before goosebumps riddled the surface of his.

He started down the street to the corner grocer, the one Temari would be starting work at. As he walked he stared at his feet, watching the steps he took out of boredom but noises ripped him from his slightly dazed state. Looking up he witnessed a large group of kids around his age racing on roller skates and skateboards. He wouldn't have been so alarmed if the group wasn't headed right at him. The first thought that accrued to him was to get out of the groups way but they were coming too fast.

Three of them went by with no problems but the others weren't to be so easily evaded. They yelled for him to get out of the way.

"Hey red, get outta the way!!" Gaara dodged to the left.

"Move it short stuff!" Dodge right.

"Oh my gosh!" And left again with two passing that time.

"Hey!" And right.

"Watch it!" Left.

"Outta my way!" And duck as they jumped over him.

"Sorry!" That one almost hit him.

As he stood, thinking the coast was clear, he turned back towards the corner grocer. A mistake on his part.

"AH! Look out!" He looked up just in time. Smack and crash to the ground.

He blinked when he found himself looking up at the sky tasting hair in his mouth. He knew it wasn't his,being it was too short. The kid who crashed into him sat up and looked at him, sitting on Gaara's lap in a sort of straddling way. Gaara could see the boys features, the boys head blocking out the sun.

The boy seemed older than him by maybe a year or two. He had jet black hair, large bug eyes, slightly bushy eyebrows, and a shining white smile. Gaara blinked, slightly dumbfounded on what had happened.

"Sorry about that," the boy said. He leaned back and got off Gaara, "I didn't hurt you did I?"

Gaara lay there at first, looking at the older boy. A few of the boys friends ran over to see what had happened. Another boy, this time with spiky blond hair and bright blue eyes, put his face into Gaara's. Behind the boy was a girl with pink hair and another boy with raven black hair. Gaara blinked again and sat up. The raven haired boy turned to the other kids.

"Lee's victim is alright."

"Hey!" yelled the boy who fell on him, "It's not like I meant to OK! I told you guys it's been years since I have been rollerblading and I still can't get the hand of braking."

"We'll sweat the details later.All this exercise is making me hungry." said a slightly chubby kid. The rest of the kids who joined in on the conversation he couldn't see, being blocked by the boy named Lee. (didn't mean to rhyme, sorry!)

"Chouji, your always hungry, you fat tub of lard."

"Shut up, Ino!" the one called Chouji threw away an empty bag of potato chips in a nearby garbage can.

"Here Chouji, maybe a sucker will tide you over till lunch?" a kid presented a sucker to him and he took it.

"Thanks, Shikamaru." before he could eat it a whitish-blond haired girl took it.

"Shikamaru! I thought we agreed that Chouji is on a diet!"

"Ino, please don't yell." said a blue-ish haired girl.

"Yeah Ino." said one caring a dog. "Yelling will make your hair fall out or turn it gray." she looked insulted.

"At least she doesn't smell like wet dog like you do Kiba." said one with dark sunglasses.

"Hush it,bug boy!" barked Kiba.

"By the way, nice jump Kiba." said the spiky blond turning away from Gaara.

"Thanks Naruto."

"If only Lee was that nimble." said a boy with long hair, tied at the end. The others laughed at Lee's hurt look.

He jumped up and turned to them. "Neji! Shut up!"

Gaara was growing tired of this conversation that they were having. The constant yelling was giving him a head ache, adding to the slight pain he had in his gut and back. He stood and walked out of the crowd, figuring they wouldn't notice him leaving. He walked with quick steps, entered the grocer, and made his way to the back where the ramen and other noodles were stocked.

The cashier was talking to an old woman that had walked in right after Gaara. Overhearing a little bit of the conversation, they were talking about the group of kids that he met outside.

"Someone aught to teach those kids some proper manners." said the old lady

"Ah but their just kids." said the cashier. "Young and hopeless ya know." and the old lady nodded.

Gaara stared at the package of ramen and thought. He shook his head and grabbed it roughly. He muttered to himself under his breath before going to the counter.

"Just kids..."

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**And that's the end of the chapter folks. I hope you enjoyed it. Till next time.**


	4. CH4: Lost

A/N: Yeah! I am finally posting another chapter! And a reviewer told me that Temari is actually the older one. Sorry about that guys. Gotta get my fact straight more often huh? Well anyway here's chapter three. I mean four. Gosh my head is scrambled.

Gaara tossed to his side in his futile attempt to find comfort, only to be rejected by his semi-soft mattress. He sighed and gave on sleep. Another night with out slumber. Turning to his back, he stared up at the ceiling, picking out its intentional and non intentional flaws. as if hoping in doing so will bring about sleep.

He shook his head; defeated, "What's the use?"

He always had trouble sleeping. It was like his curse. He had never told his siblings how bad it was, though. Sitting up he leaned against the wall with the window behind him and looked over his shoulder to view outside. The window was open and his door was closed. He liked the warm summer air better than the cold air that ran throughout the building. He stared up at the stars and the glowing moon, thinking deeply.

He started to fall into a trance-like state. A feeling came across him. It wasn't sleep, unfortunately. Just an overwhelming sense of calm, causing all his muscles to relax. Soon his mind started to fall into that trance as well. Becoming cloudy; his alertness began to whither away slowly. Soothingly. His eyes drifted shut and his mind recalled those good times back at home. They were few in numbers but filled Gaara with warmth, hope, and the feeling of being home. Lost in the past, he drifted out of the present.

He was reluctantly ripped away from his trance state by a rock hitting his head. Being awakened from the trance so violently caused him to jump into consciousness. His body felt weak and he sprawled onto the floor, making a loud crashing noise. He sat up swiftly, wondering if he woke anyone up. He heard Kankuro sift in the other room but nothing from Temari. Odd, he thought, she's a light sleeper.

He heard someone yelled out up he looked to the window and peered out searching for the one who threw the rock. He had thought it was a harsh joke some one wanted to pull and expected the culprit to be gone already. Looking out he only saw one person on the streets, and that one person seemed to be the culprit, which was not surprisingly a kid. It was hard to make out the kids features with the lack of lighting. He became uninterested with the kid and proceeded to shut the window, now extremely annoyed. He grabbed the window and began to close it.

The kid waved his arms frantically, "Hey wait! Don't be angry! Did it hit you that hard?! Please don't go! I haven't apologized for earlier! Oh come on, please wait!"

Gaara looked at the boy and realized it was that one who ran him over earlier that day. He glared at the boy and gave a heavy, annoyed sigh. "Apologize?"

The boy put his arms down and put his hands in his pockets, trying to look as sincere as possible. "Yeah. I figured I owe you one. How about it, red?"

Gaara glared an evil one at the bug-eyed boy. He fumed inside when ever he heard people call him Red. "My name is not Red and I don't appreciate you calling me that. How did you know where I lived anyway?"

The boy blinked for a moment and laughed, rubbing the back of his head. "I didn't really. Just got lucky I threw it into your room. Now I've got to apologize for running you over and hitting you with my rock, huh?" He continued to laugh nervously, as if trying to make it into a joke.

Gaara wasn't laughing. He really didn't believe the kid either, but then again he didn't know the kid too well. He growled lightly in annoyance, though he doubted the kid could hear it. "OK then, apologize if you want." He grabbed the window again and started to close it.

The boy leaped forward and waved his hands. " Wait!! How am I supposed to apologize with the window shut! You wouldn't hear me." Gaara stopped trying to close the window and waited for the boy to continue. He put his arms down and rubbed the back of his head nervously. "Well, you see. It's much more polite to say it in front of you and not yell it out to you. After all, it's almost midnight and people are sleeping. People who are sleeping need sleep, you know." the boy said matter-of-factly, hinting Gaara to either let him in or come down himself.

Gaara looked over his shoulder towards his door. Kankuro and Temari were sleeping. The boy had a point in what he said. The red head would hate to wake Kankuro or Temari up. Kankuro would be seething with anger and Temari would be pacing the kitchen for the rest of the night. Again, Gaara sighed heavily and gave the boy a one minute sign, signifying he was coming down. Shutting the window he turned and got dressed, being he was in his night clothes.

Sneaking out of the apartment, he walked down the building halls with out being bothered and his body adjusted to the cool temperature of the building. Walking by a mirror he glanced at it and stopped, trying to tame that wild short red hair of his. Failing in that he stared at himself. The make up he used to cover his sleepy eyes was coming off slightly, He sighed and shook his head. What are you doing? he thought. He turned from the mirror and walked out of that cool, well air conditioned building.

Not to his surprise, the boy wasn't there. Or so he thought at first. He heard a cough behind him and he turned around. The boy was sitting on a bench that sat right by the door way. Gaara crossed his arms and waited a moment. The boy didn't say anything. He sighed heavily, once again annoyed. "Well? Aren't you going to apologize?"

The boy had a shocked look on his face and laughed again. "Oh yeah, that's right. I almost forgot about that." Annoyance shown plainly on Gaara's face, but the boy continued as if not noticing. "Well. Okay. I'll first start off with apologizing for running you over. I'm sorry I ran you over. I haven't rode on roller skates in ages, so yeah." The boy laughed again. "And sorry for throwing a rock at your head too. You don't have a bump do you? I hope not. That would smart. Oh and sorry for not introducing myself earlier. My name is Rock Lee. My dad works at the school as a gym and health teacher during school and then works in recreations in the summer and after school hours. Hey maybe we'll be going to the same school! Would that be cool?"

Gaara had enough of this. He wanted to go back inside and try to get some sleep or play a video game. He walked back to the door and pulled on the handle. It didn't budge. His eyes widened and he prayed that it was just stuck and not... He pulled again and again. "You've gotta be kidding me!" He yanked again and again and one more time! The door was officially locked from the inside. What his luck. He slammed his fists against the door and kicked it a bit before he was pushed against the wall by Rock Lee.

"Calm down man," Rock Lee began, "If you wanna get back in so badly, I can show you OK. Now get a grip and keep quiet. Or the tenant might--" but it was too late.

The tenant came out and with a gun. The woman started hollering at them and then things went blurry to Gaara. The next thing he knew he was running with Rock Lee pulling him by his wrist. When they both finally stopped running, Gaara looked around, looking at everything around them.

To the left of them; swings, slides, and jungle gyms. To the right; a basketball court, volleyball court, a few tennis courts, a baseball field, and a track encircled it.

Across the street was a gas station and an ice cream shop, and behind it were signs of a public pool being built. Finally looking in front of him, he saw a sign.

He was able to read 'Hidden Leaves Public Activities Center' due to the lighting bellow the sign.

And he was lost in a city he didn't know with a boy he just met.


	5. CH5: Somewhere I belong

_**A/N:**_ **Chapter 5! Gaara and Rock Lee as seeds of friendship are being planted. Yay! Too bad Gaara's still a jerk.**

**People keep asking about the fic being rated M for mature. It will eventually be M but for now I'll put it to a lower setting. To keep things simple you know.**

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Rock Lee straightened up finally after catching his breath. Letting out a high pitched "whoa" he chuckled and threw his arms up, hands in the air. Gaara glanced over to him and as the bug-eyed boy let himself drop to the ground. Gaara let himself drop as well. Sitting Indian style, the red head proceeded with picking the grass in front of him.

"Now that was fun," exclaimed Rock Lee. He continued to laugh lightly, unintentionally irritating his companion.

"Fun?" he breathed mockingly, "We almost got shot at. You call that fun?!"

"Ah calm down. We weren't in any real danger. Anko wouldn't have shot us. Neji says she's never shot any one, but that the gun is loaded at all times. I think that's a lie though. Why would anyone want to keep a gun loaded at all times? It could fire on its own or a kid could get it. People get hurt like that." The bug-eyed boy sat up and nudged Gaara's foot friendly like. The red head glared up at him, but the boy paid no heed and gave a large toothy smile. "So, what's your name? And while we're on the subject; where are you from, how old are you, do you have any family, are you staying long, and do you have any hobbies?"

"I don't feel like answering those questions." Gaara stood swiftly and started down the road.

"Hey! Do you even know where you're going? I know you're new to this town so it's best for you to stick with me instead of going off on your own. You'll get lost real quick," The red head pretended not to hear the kid and kept walking. "You can't even get into the building anyway, remember? The door was locked."

Gaara stopped. He had a point, a few points actually. The red head stared at his feet for a few seconds before turning around. The bug-eyed boy's grin came back to larger than before and he walked over to join Gaara. Putting his arm over his shoulder friendly like, Lee pulled him towards the ice cream shop. "Come on; let me buy you some ice cream. The shop is always open in the summer. I know the owner so he won't mind us being in there at this time of night." Gaara threw the arm off but followed.

As the boys entered into the shop and out of the summer air, it was like being thrown into a cold pool of ice after baking in the sun for an hour or so. It sent chills all over Gaara's body, causing goose bumps to emerge. It definitely didn't help that he was wearing only a dark t-shirt and a pair of summer shorts. He clutched himself and rubbed his arms to keep warm.

The shop was bright; it had three round tables and two booths in front of the windows by the front door. For it being small, it was kind of cozy. The floor was covered in a gray, rough looking carpet. The walls were white with a wooden trim trailing up. Pictures just covered the wooden paneling. One wall, near the register, was a bulletin board. They were the only ones in there, well them and the clerk.

Rock Lee went up to the register and started chit chatting with the clerk. He was reading a book of some sort. Gaara couldn't read the title, but the book was real worn out. What stuck out were the spiky silver hair and an eye patch. He had the book high enough to his face that no one would be able to see below his nose.

"Kakashi-sensei, ho--" Rock Lee was cut off from his sentence.

"You know you're not supposed to be up this late Lee. Guy-sensei will be upset with you if he were to ever find out. You know how it is." Kakashi peered over his book at them and chuckled at the nervous face Rock Lee made. "So who's your friend and what can I do for you?"

Rock Lee smiled and started to look through the menu. "He's not too talkative so I thought I would get him something to say sorry. I kind of ran him over earlier and then threw a rock at the back of his head and then he got locked out of his building. Anko-sensei is his tenant."

"Well that explains a 0lot," Kakashi nodded and turned to Gaara, "So what's your name? I haven't seen you around here before. Did you just move here?"

"He sure did just move here! I was thinking about taking him around town after getting him some ice cream." He hastily turned to the red head and put himself in the way of Kakashi's view, his big white shiny teeth gleamed in the white light of the building. "So what flavor of ice cream do you want? You can actually get your ice cream mixed with something. That's always a good choice."

Kakashi decided to put his two cents in Rock Lee's idea. "Don't you think it's too dark to show him around town Lee? You wouldn't be able to see anything at this time of night. Unless you have night vision goggles. You don't, do you?"

Gaara sighed heavily. He didn't like that they were talking as if he weren't there. Moving his attention to the menu for some short moments, he chose something called a Sandstorm. It sounded interesting, why not try it?

Waiting for the ice cream to be done, Gaara had busied himself with staring at some pictures and viewing what was on the bulletin board. There were pictures of kids having a good time, parents with some little ones, family gatherings; stuff like that. The bulletin board had stuff like newspaper clippings, couples exclaiming their love for one another written like "Bob&Jenny 4ever", party invites, activity times, and other things. He got to reading the 'help wanted' ads, thinking of finding one for Kankuro or himself. A few caught his eye, but none that were suitable.

After the two had gotten their ice creams they headed back into the summer night. Rock Lee feebly tried to strike up a conversation, "So what kind did you get? Mine's called Mint serge. It's got mint ice cream with peanut butter cups and nugget. What's in yours?"

"I don't know," Gaara snapped, "It's got butterscotch chips and cookie crumbs with vanilla ice cream."

"Oh, cool. That ones called Sandstorm. No one I know has tried that one. They thought it would be nasty cause of the butterscotch. So how does it taste?"

Gaara shrugged, "Its ok."

The two of them made it over to the baseball field and sat on the bleachers. Not much conversation was made, mainly because Gaara didn't really want to make any effort to keep it going. His companion did most of the talking, telling about the history and current issues of the village. Eventually he figured out that the red head wasn't listening and decided to take action.

"So are you okay with telling me your name now?" he said, glancing over to Gaara and giving him a pleading look. It seemed that Rock Lee really wanted to be the first to know his name.

Gaara sighed and finished off his ice cream. The boy was nice enough to tell him who he was and buy him ice cream, but he did have trouble shutting up.

"You don't have to tell me. I understand if you're uncomfortable." The bug-eyed boy messed with his ice cream, giving off a disappointed vibe.

Gaara grunted in irritation. Leaning over the bleachers he threw the empty ice cream container into the trash can, and then sat there thinking. The silence that emerged was so think that you could cut it with a spoon. It made things even more uncomfortable than Lee talking up a storm. What's wrong, he thought to himself. It's just a stupid name, not like he's going to make fun of me.

"Gaara..."

"Huh?"

He sighed, feeling defeated yet relieved that the uncomfortable tension was subsiding, "My name is Gaara."

His companion smiled. Lee reached over the red head to throw away his ice cream container, and in doing so, startling him. Gaara fell sideways and off the bench to the ground. Actually this would have been true but the trash can was right there. He dropped into it roughly, causing it to fall over to its side. And now the red head was covered in garbage.

Rock Lee rushed from the bleachers and knelt down to Gaara, all the while exclaiming his apologies. "I'm so sorry! Are you okay? I didn't mean to push you. I'm so, so sorry! You're a mess. Oh crap, I swear that was not intentional. Did you hit your head?" The clumsy oaf helped the red head stand and started to dust him off. He even took out some of the napkins they were given and worked at the yucky wet spots Gaara had collected.

But Gaara had enough. He grabbed both of Rock Lee's hands and gripped them tightly, shifting his hands to grind the boys' knuckles together. Letting out a yelp of pain, the boy squirmed and tried to take his hands back. The red head did this as a way to direct his anger only to his companion quietly and make him noticeable.

"Listen to me loud and clear, Rock Lee. I'm not a friendly person. I don't like people and they don't like me. Quit with your apologizing. It's getting you no where. I'm tired of this little charade you're pulling. Take me home now. We're done with this. And no talking on the way back, I'm tired of listening to your stupid chattering." He gave Rock Lee a strong, ice cold glare.

The look on the boy's face, however, was one of hurt. He didn't speak, just nodded in understanding. Gaara let go of his hands and stood straight. Rock Lee turned and started walking. The red head smiled. That's more like it, he thought. And so they walked in silence.

They finally made their way back to the apartment building. Gaara had tried to map out their path, but it was impossible for him to do so in the dark. He couldn't figure out why Lee was able to find their way there. When they had gotten there, he led Gaara to the back of the building. "Wait here. I'll open the back door." he said. So Gaara waited outside. The boy walked to the other side of the building, out of site. The red head could hear some noises being made.

Soon afterwards, the door the red was standing in front of opened and then he entered. Lee was standing at the door way. Gaara walked pas without looking at the boy, attempting to ignore him.

"Gaara..."

The red head stopped and turned to the other boy, sounding mildly angered. "What?"

"I know you're not too fond of me, but I just wanted to say I'm sorry for pushing you and I wanted to say thanks." Lee turned and started to exit the building.

"For what," Gaara said, confused.

"For keeping me company," he replied with a small smile, "See you around." And then he left.

Gaara climbed the stairs and walked back to the apartment. When he got to the door he saw Temari fumble with her keys. She heard him walking over.

"Gaara... What are you doing up so late?" She spoke and tried to hide her nervousness by acting like she wasn't hiding anything.

"I could ask you the same question. So, you were working. Why didn't you say so?" He crossed his arms, awaiting an answer and at the same time hoping that she didn't smell him.

Temari sighed and looked down at the floor. She fiddled with her keys a moment before turning the door knob. "I just wanted to get some more work time. We need the money to pay for your schooling. You won't be in school the first week or so though. After all we came to register late."

"Why did we have to leave?"

There was a long pause. The halls were so silent, the dead would be amazed. She pushed the door open, finally breaking the silence with a creak. She looked up to meet Gaara's eyes. Her face was sad but she forced a smile. "So we can start over, Gaara. Have a new life... We didn't belong there anymore. There was nothing left for us. I thought you'd be happy. You can finally make friends."

Gaara's gaze fell to the floor. Temari sighed again. She walked in and waited for him to follow. He stood there for a moment, glaring at the floor. He gave in and walked into the apartment. He didn't look up or respond when Temari called his name. He walked straight to his room and closed the door, deciding his bath can wait till Temari went to sleep.

The red head stood at his bed, feeling wary. Looking around the small empty room, he sighed. After changing he plopped down on the bed and took the last box full of his things and began to unpack. While in doing so he uncovered a picture frame. Turning it over to peer at the picture, he remembered what it was like when he was little. He was grateful that no one in this village knew him, but he was still afraid that it will turn out the same.

"I can't let anyone know me," he said to himself, quiet enough for no one to hear, "I won't have friends..." Gaara lied down and set the picture on the side of the bed. "So Temari... Where do I belong?"


	6. CH6: Paint it Black

**_A/N_: Chapter 6. Hope you like it.**

* * *

Rock Lee shuffled his feet along the ground in a dejected fashion. Skates over his shoulder and a bag of body guards in his hand, he was heading towards the skate park. He couldn't stop thinking about last night, on how he tried to be so nice but failed miserably in the end. Stupid idiot, he thought. How could you be such a clumsy oaf? You pushed him into a garbage can of all things! Misery was written all over his face. Boy, did he need a distraction. 

And just then the perfect distraction appeared. A blonde spiky haired boy came running over, followed by a pink haired girl and a raven haired boy. "Rock Lee, wait up for us!" said the blonde boy.

"You mean wait up for you, Naruto." The raven haired boy said, running ahead. This angered Naruto, just like the boy predicted. The blonde ran faster to get ahead.

"Eat my dust, Sasuke!"

"You can't beat me, Naruto! Give up!"

"Oh; yeah! First one to the skate part wins!" he snapped

"You're on!" And the two boys went from a light jog to an all out sprint, breezing past Rock Lee like he wasn't even there.

"Oh; yeah. It's nice to see you, too." Lee said sarcastically to the air. He stopped and waited for the pink haired girl to catch up. "Hello Sakura."

"Hello Lee. So how's life on your end?" said Sakura with a very large smile. But as she looked towards the direction the other two had went; her face became angered and menacing. "Once I get my hands on them."

Rock Lee laughed, "Now, now Sakura."

"But they make me so angry! Ditching me like that."

"Now I'm not that bad, am I?" he rubbed the back of his head nervously.

Sakura of course, being the very smart girl that she is, could see more than Lee was letting on. "What's eating at you Lee? Boy problems?" she teased

Rock Lee's face flushed for a second before laughing. "Well… you know that boy I ran into?"

"Sure."

"Well I was walking around town last night and I thought I saw him in a window. So I picked up a rock and threw it at him. I was actually aiming for the wall next to him but I accidentally hit him in the back of the head. I got him to come down though. So I started to apologize but I guess he got annoyed with that so he tried to go back inside his apartment complex. But the door was locked from the inside. So he got angry and started beating at the door. He lives in Anko's building so I tried to stop him before she came out, but she did."

Sakura gasped. "Did she have her gun?"

He nodded. "And so we ran and got to the activity center. We sat by the sign for a while, catching our breath. He got annoyed again and went to walk off by himself. But he's new to the town and doesn't know his way, so I convinced him to come with me. We went to the ice cream shop--"

"Was Kakashi-sensei there?" Sakura interrupted.

"Yes, but--"

"Did you see his face?"

"Well no--"

"We need to get that mask off of him. We'll try tonight! And--"

"Sakura!"

"What? Oh, oops... sorry." she attempted to look as innocent as possible, making Rock Lee laugh at the attempt.

"Anyway, we went to the ice cream shop and got some ice cream buckets--"

"Oh those are so good." Rock Lee gave her a stern look. "Sorry." she said so innocently.

"And left the shop. We made our way to the baseball bleachers and I told him about Konoha. But then we were real quiet. So I asked him his name-- I already told him mine by now-- and that's when he finally told me his name." He paused a moment on purpose to see if Sakura was still listening or in her own head.

"So, what's his name?" she said curiously.

Rock Lee smiled. "Gaara. Well, so I tried to throw the ice cream bucket away but I accidentally pushed him off and into a garbage can."

"You what?" questioned Sakura.

"I know. I was so embarrassed. Of course he got angry and then he grabbed my hands and did this." Lee grabbed the girls hand and shifted it to grind her knuckles together.

"Owe! Lee, you didn't have to do that!" quickly she drew her hand back and rubbed it.

"Sorry. I just wanted to show you. Well then he said he wanted to go home so I took him home and apologized. Then I walked home."

Sakura shook her head. "I'm sorry Lee, but that kid doesn't sound too nice. You should avoid him" She walked ahead. Rock Lee sighed.

The story had occupied them till they got to the skate park. They could see the others there waiting. Including Sasuke and Naruto who were on the ground panting and arguing over who had won.

"Hey there; Rock Lee!" Yelled Choji with his mouth half full of food, like always. "Didn't run over anybody this time, did you?" He was hit over the head by Ino. "Hey! What's with you?"

"He's not wearing his skates, baka. Of course he's not going to run someone over!" Ino turned to Sakura as the two finished their approach. "So Sakura, you're interest turn to Rock Lee now? About time you realized Sasuke's mine." she smirked deviously.

"What?!" Sakura fumed. "There's no way I'm going to allow that Ino Yamanaka!"

"Sakura!" said Rock Lee in a very dramatic voice. "Why? After all the love I've presented you with all these years. Why do you choose such a child?" Lee continued with dramatic poses while he spoke ending by grasping Sakura and making kissing notions. "Oh Sakura!"

Sakura screamed and retaliated by hitting Rock Lee and running over to Naruto and Sasuke, all the while exclaiming Rock Lee's freakiness to the world. This demonstration got a lot of laughs from the group. But now, that fun was over. A different fun began, skate fun.

Rock Lee had to admit, the two best skaters were Kiba and Neji. And the worst was him. There was definitely no one that matched him in his lack of skill. That's what his friends always said. So Rock Lee just skated back and forth near the entrance to keep out of the others way. He became really bored over by himself, though. The voices of the other kids were drowned out by TenTen's portable CD player that Lee was borrowing. He was getting the hang of skating backwards until someone pushed him from behind. He tried to keep himself in control but he was pushed again and he tumbled away. Well actually more like _in the way_. Lee fell, right smack dab into the skate pit, causing Choji, Kiba, TenTen, Ino, Hinata, and Sasuke to crash. Naruto and the others ran to help.

Loud laughing was heard from near the entrance. Peering over, the group saw the bullies who call themselves the 'Akatsuki'. The Akatsuki were a fighting group that fought at the local tournament held every year. They specialized in different styles of fighting, yet all fought just as ruthless as the other. So it's no doubt that Sasuke's older brother, Itachi, was part of the group. Luckily Itachi was no where to be seen. The two brothers would have probably fought again. Rock Lee remembered how much hatred the Uchiha brothers had for one another. But Sasuke was never a match for Itachi. Rock Lee didn't understand how they could hate each other so much.

The Akatsuki walked over to the group. The one with long blond hair spoke, "It's out fun time now kids. Why don't you run along now, it's probably time for your afternoon nap. You wouldn't want to keep your mommies waiting." The others had laughed.

"We were here first," exclaimed Neji. "So why don't you cheerleaders run along and catch butterflies. Or maybe some other activity your brains can handle."

"Neji," Rock Lee became worried. Insulting the Akatsuki was, as he had seen in the past, always a bad idea.

"Assuming they even hold any intelligence," Sasuke chirped in after exiting the skate pit. He was immediately backed up by their other friends.

"Of course," the blond continued, "that's the way children think. You kids must feel fortunate; I'm not in the mood to deal with you. So this is your last chance; go now or else."

Rock Lee didn't like this one bit. Not the _Akatsuki_, he thought. _Come on guys, don't. They aren't worth it. _He nudged Neji and tried to gain his attention, but he was given the cold shoulder. He couldn't find a way out.

"Well, too bad. You started it by messing with our friend. Are you gonna finish it? Or are you too chicken?" Naruto spat back. The others chirped in with a little "yeah" and a "got that right."

Lee couldn't take this. Everyone-- except for that lazy bum Shikamaru who was laying in the shade of a nearby tree-- were in on it. He had to get out of there. Breaking away from the group he headed in the direction he dreaded to go and wanted so badly to go; to the entrance where the Akatsuki stood. "I have no time for this!" he stated roughly, trying to act more annoyed than scared and hoping no one noticed his fear. And hoping no one would stop him from leaving.

"Toby's a good boy. Can Toby join the Akatsuki now?" said a covered boy with a spiral mask that only revealed on eye. This boy walked in front of Lee, although he was talking to the blond.

Lee froze. He was no longer among his friends. He gave the man that called himself Toby a strong glare. Memories about what happened started to come to mind. _No!_ He told himself. _Just stop thinking about it. It won't happen this time._

"Well," said the blond, "looks like you gained some spunk, insect. Or are you just running with your head cut off?"

Shino stepped forward, "He's no insect. Insects among humans are those weak enough to call others insects, Deidara."

"Of course you would know, being one yourself. Insects are those who think they are stronger then they really are." Deidara turned to Sasuke, "So are you going to join the tournament this year? Your brother is coming back to town just for that. He wanted to give you the heads up, so you have time to train. Are you ready for him, Uchiha?"

Rock Lee saw this as another opportunity to get out of there. Stepping forward he was ready for a jog, but there was a flash of movement and pain stuck him hard. Struck in the gut, he was lifted off the ground slightly. Then he felt another sharp pain strike him; this time on his back. And he hit the pavement real hard. His head was fuzzy and felt like someone shoved cotton in it. There were dots covering his sight; changing colors and sizes at random. His hearing seemed impaired as well. The only thing he could hear clearly was his own breathing.

He lay there for what felt like decades. Then the bug-eyed boy felt himself be lifted up and shaken. Someone was yelling but he couldn't make out who it was. Then, everything went black.


	7. CH7: Pain

A/N: WARNING. Some characters might be out of character in this chapter. Forgive me for not being able to keep the characters in character. It is only to push the story along and will be limited after the chapter. And if they are in character just ignore this message.

* * *

Rock Lee's eyes opened slowly. The room was dark, only the light from beneath the door shined in. The windows were covered by think burly curtains. Noises could be heard right outside the door. Lee turned his head and stared at the shadows that passed by the door. It sounded like an argument, he closed his eyes to focus more on the voices.

"You're taking this out of proportion, Gai-sensei." said a soft yet firm voice. Young but definitely older than a teens.

"Well, you're not doing anything to prevent these events, Kakashi!" that voice was the most recognizable.

Kakashi-sensei and Gai-sensei? What are the talking about, he thought to himself. He sat up weakly, feeling the pain hit his muscles. It stung worse than a hundred bee stings. He glared at the crack of light under the door, watching the shadows pass by, and focused on what the voices were saying again.

"Just calm down Gai-sensei. It's not as bad as you think. I stopped the fight before it could have gotten any worse." said Kakashi.

"It shouldn't have-"

"Of course not, but it did. We can't change that, you know so. And we can't changed what happened two years ago either."

Rock Lee climbed out of bed and slowly walked towards the door, ignoring the stinging feeling that swept over his whole body. Kneeling down, he peeked out through the key hole. Kakashi sat at the window sill while Gai paced back and forth continuously.

"What happened two years ago shouldn't have happened."

"But it did-"

"Because of you!" Gai claimed.

"I admit, it was an error on my part. But what gives you the right to take the boys freedom?"

"And just what are you saying, Kakashi?"

"You know what I'm saying. You don't give him room to grow. Ever since the tournament you've kept him on a short leash. Do you see what it's doing to him?" The room was quiet for a minute or two. "He's losing friends because you refuse his freedom. He has to sneak out at all hours to have fun."

"What?" Gai sounded as if astonished, he turned to Kakashi.

No, Lee thought. Kakashi-sensei, you've ruined any chance of me doing that ever again. Lee grimaced and thought of how his window would now have bars on them to keep him in at night. He shook his head and continued listening to the teachers conversation.

"Don't you dare lecture me about raising Rock Lee. You don't know how it feels..."

"No, I don't. Not in the real sense. But I do view Naruto, Sakura, and Sasuke as my children sometimes. And that's how I understand how you felt that day."

Rock Lee stepped away from the door and lied in back in bed. Gai-sensei is only worried about my safety, he thought with a smile. He heard the door knob turn and it creak open. Lee closed his eyes quickly and pretended he was asleep. Foot steps traveled over to the bed.

"It's not the guild I felt back then, it was the pain he was feeling. He shouldn't have gone through that experience."

The room was silent again. Rock Lee tried his hardest to keep his breathing steady and keep his eyes closed, though he had the urge to open and take a peek. Nothing at first was said. Foot steps echoed the room again and the door was creaking again. Lee caught a glimpse of what Gai was saying.

"We are going to be moving again..." And the door clicked closed. The voices on the other side of the door were too low to comprehend.

Lee sat up quickly; horror planted on his face. He whispered to himself "You promised..." He felt hurt, betrayed. He nodded to himself and planted a stern look on his face and he decided not to go anywhere.

* * *

It was two hours passed when Lee was given a chance to sneak out. Peeking out the door he watched Gai finally leave the chair he planted himself in. He exited the room and placed the note he had written on napkins where Gai was sitting. Then he grabbed the backpack of clothes that Gai brought him and slipped around the corner. To his surprise the hospital was easy to sneak around in today. Usually when his friends and him decided to sneak around the building the would get caught, but then again it was around eleven or so and the hospital wasn't so busy at night, surprisingly.

After changing in a bathroom he headed for the exit. Though when he turned around another corner he almost ran into Kakashi. He dashed back around the corner. He hoped that Kakashi didn't see him. Heading over to a window he opened it and climbed out. Luckily it was the first floor he was on so he just had to jump a short way to land on the ground. He hid behind the bushes a while before heading out.

He couldn't think of where to go now that he was out of the hospital. Sitting down at the park, thought of who to go to. Not Neji's, he thought. He has enough problems with his family. Definitely not TenTen, she'd send him back. He picked up a stick and started to write the names of all his friends in the dirt.

"Naruto, Sasuke, Sakura, Ino, Kiba... Not Hinata; her and Neji are going through enough. Definitely not Sakura and Ino, I'd be sent back by those two," He crossed off names, "Not Chouji either, I'd starve to death at his house. Naruto's a blabbermouth. Sasuke wouldn't want me to stay over. Kiba's house smells like dog. The bug collection in Shino's living room creeps me out. So that leaves Shikamaru and Gaara." He went silent for a moment, staring at the red heads name. "He's angry with me right now." He slowly crossed out the boys name. He stared again one more time before standing and heading to the other side of the park, away from the apartments.

About twenty minutes later he was finally at Shikamaru's house. But the lights weren't on in any part of the duplex. He checked the driveway, but didn't see their car. It seemed no one was home. He bit his lip and rubbed the back of his neck. He shrugged and took the keys out of pocket heading for the hotel that was right down the street. Gai and him stayed in room 8. He had no intention of staying, just getting something to eat before he headed back to towards the park. He grabbed a sandwich and a water bottle from the fridge.

He made his way to Gaara's home, seeing he had no other choice. Forty-five minutes of walking he came to the apartment building. He went around to the back of the building and to a window that was usually open. He quietly climbed in. The window led to Anko's room on the low level of the apartments. Luckily Anko was passed out drunk on the couch and the gun was halfway across the room. He crept to the door unlocked the locks, dreading every time they made a noise. He opened the door and slipped into the hallway. He went over to the back door and opened it. Placing his backpack in the door he turned and went back into the landladies apartment.

It was a risky task, but if Anko were to find out that he could get into the building through her window then he wouldn't be able to get in at all. He liked going to the roof and used to spend a lot of time up there. He locked the door back up, hesitating after every click to make sure she was still asleep. Out of the window and to the back door, infiltration successful. He picked up his back pack and took the stairs.

Lee made his way to the other side of the hall. He envisioned which apartment belonged to Gaara as he made his way down the hall. Nearly halfway down the hall the bug-eyed boy heard yelling and such noises coming from one of the apartments. He came close to listen in, but to his surprise the door flew open suddenly and nailed him smack dab in the nose. The two people that came out seemed not to notice the noise his face made when the door hit. He grabbed his nose as it started to bleed.

And then he saw something incredible. The first to come out of the apartment was a boy with a hat that made him look like he had ears on his head. He was followed out by a blond girl with two sets of piggy tails in her hair. The blond girl ran at the boy and jumped, attempting to kick the boy in the head. The boy ducked and turned around, blocking punches thrown by the girl. Neither of them could get a hit on each other, and both were fast enough that Lee barely kept up with his eyes. Someone else came from the apartment. A red head boy stood at the door, blocking Lee's view from the fight.

"Kankuro! Temari! What are you two doing?" he said. The two stopped fighting to answer

"She started it, she keeps pestering me about getting a job." said the guy in the cat hat and clown make-up.

"Well, if you would actually do it then I won't pester you about it." stated the blond.

"With you two bickering all night, how is anyone supposed to get any sleep? Kankuro, get a job. Temari, stop hassling him. Settled? Now if you don't mind I'm going back to bed." The red head disappeared behind the door.

When Lee's view was no longer blocked by the red head, he could see the blond and the clown boy staring in his direction. The blond saw him first.

"Nice going, Kankuro. Your making quite a first impression of the neighbors. Bashing their faces in with a door." She snapped at the clown boy.

"Hey! It was an accident! OK! It's not like I meant to do that, Temari!" The clown boy said her name with a sassy tone as if trying to annoy her.

The red head leaned his head from around the corner of the door and looked down. Black rings around the eyes, face of stone. That was definitely Gaara. Lee took one hand off his face and waved at Gaara. They noticed the blood, naturally.

"Kankuro, you broke the boy's nose!" the girl stated.

And before anything else could be said or done, Lee found himself being dragged into their bathroom. Gaara stood there and watched them, not saying a word. So Lee decided to strike up a conversation.

"Hey, I didn't mean to hit you with the door--" The clown boy was interrupted by Lee's laughter.

"Ha ha ha. It's OK. So, Gaara, I guess this is your family. Nice to meet you. My name is Rock Lee." He smiled at the three of them.

Kankuro and Temari turned their attention to Gaara, looking for answers.

* * *

With all four of them around the table, the apartment seemed smaller, so much smaller than usual. Lee looked around and saw the cracked ceiling, the loose floor and the much needed cleaning of the stove. It was covered with ramen wrappers and dirty pots. Most likely that mess started the previous argument.

He looked back at them, still with a smile on his face. "This is a great place, Gaara. Not too roomy but it's still better than a hotel." He laughed hesitantly at that statement.

"Yes, it's much better then a hotel." Said the blond. "Rock Lee right?"

"Most people call me Lee."

"Lee then. You're Gaara's friend?"

He rubbed the back of his head with a hesitant smile. "Well, yeah, sort of."

"How did you two meet?"

"We ran into each other when I was headed to the grocery store a few days ago." said the red head said in a cold tone.

"Well, my name is Temari. I'm Gaara's sister. So do you live in the apartment building?"she asked. The clown boy stayed silent because he was stuffing ramen in his mouth.

"Not really. Actually, I was gonna ask Gaara something." He smiled and looked to Gaara, who was leaning against the door frame to what seemed to be his room.

"If you wanted to ask me something you could have waited till morning. It's past twelve already." the red head snapped. He glared at the bug-eyed boy. Then looked away.

"Hey, what are you doing out this late anyway? Your dad might be worried and all." Said clown boy.

Lee looked down at the table. "Yeah. I know but..."

Clown boy looked at the blond girl, who said her name was Temari. "If he's abusing you-" Gaara looked over to Lee.

"What?! Oh no!!" Lee shook his hands in front of him nervously. "It's nothing like that. It's just he says we're going to be moving again, but I wanna stay here in Konoha." Gaara averted his eyes, feeling stupid for being interested in the conversation.

"So, you ran away for the night then." Temari stated. Lee nodded. "Well I guess you could stay here. He's staying with you though Gaara, you have the biggest room you know." When she looked at Gaara, he just walked into his room. She smiled and looked back to Lee "You're going to call him in the morning though. He shouldn't have to worry for you.■ Lee nodded. "Good night then."

Rock Lee stood and walked into Gaara's room. In one corner, right in front of the door way, a gourd sat against the wall. On the wall right next to the door was a dresser, and the bed was against the corner away from the door. There was only one window in the room, above the bed. On the dresser was a CD player, a CD case sat near it. Gaara sat on the bed, facing the window.

"Close the door. Those two will start arguing again. I'm not in the mood to hear it."

* * *

Gaara stared at the ceiling, unable to sleep again. He sat up and looked at the clock, it said three o'clock. He turned to stare out the window, like he always did. He opened the window, feeling the hot summer air flow in. The red head sighed and stared at the moon. He heard Lee make noises. He looked over to the bug-eyed boy.

"You're not asleep?" he asked, rubbing his eyes.

"Kind of hard to with you moving around." He said, trying to make Lee feel bad. "Go back to sleep."

He turned his attention back to outside. He looked around the streets, staring at their emptiness. When he looked to the building to his right, he noticed that peg sticking out of the building again. He bit his lip and thought about climbing out the window.

"Gaara."

The red head looked back at the boy in his bed.

"I have a question."

"What?"

"Could you help me with these one guys? They keep bullying us at the skate park. I bet you and your siblings could kick their asses." Lee smiled.

Gaara thought on it a moment. If they could get to the roof then they could easily train with out waking up Temari, but he doubted that the peg would be able to bare their weight. He looked to his knees a moment before answering the bug-eyed boy.

"I'll ask Kankuro tomorrow after Temari leaves for work ok. Go to bed." He looked back out the window.

With out warning Lee sat up and wrapped his arms around the red heads waist. Gaara was in shock and everything was still for a moment. Then he was suddenly being swung back and forth as the bug eyed boy turned his body from side to side.

"Oh thank you! Thank you so much!! I'll make it up to you! You'll see!!"

"Arh! Get off me!! And be quiet, you'll wake the other two!" He shoved the boy off.

It was silent for another two minute after Lee layed down. "I can't sleep now."

Gaara rolled his eyes. "Your a pain you know."

Lee just smiled and turned to his side and closed his eyes. "I know"


	8. Notice for readers

Greetings the readers who have read this and have either given up on it or are waiting for another chapter

Why Angels Never Sleep is going to be rewritten to heighten the quality of it.

And possibly a few changes/corrections will be in order.

Just a heads up that I am rewriting this piece.


End file.
